Enterprise toll-free call routing

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for providing one or more toll-free services to a customer of an enterprise telecommunications network environment. In particular, the toll-free services may be provided to the customer by one or more application servers associated with the network. Through use of the systems and methods of the present disclosure, such services may be provided for the customer regardless of the method of routing through the network requested by the customer. For example, the toll-free communication may be transmitted through the network based on a destination telephone number associated with the customer. In another example, the toll-free communication is transmitted through the network based on a destination trunk group associated with the customer.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to systems andmethods for implementing a telecommunications network, and morespecifically for providing one or more toll-free services in anenterprise network environment.

BACKGROUND

Telecommunication networks provide for the transmission of informationacross some distance through terrestrial, wireless or satellitecommunication networks. Such communications may involve voice, data ormultimedia information, among others. In addition, telecommunicationnetworks often offer features and/or services to the customers of thenetwork that provide flexible and varied ways in which thecommunications are transmitted over the network. For example, sometelecommunication networks provide toll-free communications in which acalled customer may pay for all long-distance telephone calls made tothe customer or customer's network. In general, toll-free communicationsallow a customer to the network to receive calls from disparatelocations around the country without passing the cost of suchlong-distance calls to callers to the customer.

Some toll-free features provided by the network may not be available forsome customers, however. For example, customers to the network mayutilize a dedicated trunk group to connect to the network. A dedicatedtrunk group is a trunk of the network that is reserved or dedicated to aparticular customer. Such a connection to the network may be attractiveto a customer that needs several communication lines to the network. Inthis manner, the network may route all communications intended for thecustomer to the dedicated trunk group so that the customer may route theincoming communications to the proper destination. However, routing oftoll-free communications through the network may be based, at least inpart, on the dedicated trunk group of the customer. Such routing maybypass one or more components of the network that provide toll-freeservices. In other words, one or more toll-free services provided by thenetwork may not be available to some customers depending on how thecustomer is connected to the network.

It is with these and other issues that various aspects of the presentdisclosure were developed.

SUMMARY

One implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of amethod for processing a toll-free communication in a telecommunicationsnetwork. The method may include the operations of receiving a toll-freecommunication for a dedicated trunk group customer associated with thetelecommunications network, routing the toll-free communication to anapplication server associated with the telecommunications network,applying, through the application server, one or more toll-free featuresto the toll-free communication, and routing the toll-free communicationfrom the application server to the dedicated trunk group customerassociated with the telecommunications network.

Another implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of atelecommunications network. The network may include a network routingengine configured to receive a toll-free communication and route thetoll-free communication in the telecommunications network, wherein thedestination of the toll-free communication is a dedicated trunk groupcustomer associated with the telecommunications network. The network mayalso include a toll-free application server configured to receive thetoll-free communication from the network routing engine, apply one ormore toll-free features to the toll-free communication, and route thetoll-free communication from the application server to the dedicatedtrunk group customer associated with the telecommunications network.

Yet another implementation of the present disclosure may take the formof a method for operating a telecommunications network. The method mayinclude the operations of receiving a toll-free communication requestfrom a user's device in communication with the telecommunicationsnetwork, the toll-free communication request for a dedicated trunk groupcustomer associated with the telecommunications network and transmittingthe toll-free communication request to a routing device of thetelecommunications network, the routing device configured to associate atrunk group identifier and a dialed toll-free telephone number with thetoll-free communication request. The method may also include routing thetoll-free communication request to an application server associated withthe telecommunications network based at least on the dialed toll-freetelephone number associated with the toll-free communication request,applying, through the application server, one or more toll-free featuresto the toll-free communication request, and routing the toll-freecommunication request from the application server to the dedicated trunkgroup customer associated with the telecommunications network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) operating environment in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a first embodiment forrouting a toll-free communication through an application server to adedicated trunk group.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a second embodiment forrouting a toll-free communication through an application server to adedicated trunk group.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) operating environment in accordance with asecond embodiment

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computing system whichmay be used in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computerprogram products, and the like, for providing one or more toll-freeservices to a customer of an enterprise telecommunications networkenvironment. In particular, the toll-free services may be provided tothe customer by one or more application servers associated with thenetwork. The application server(s) may be included in a virtual orenterprise network of the customer supported by a telecommunicationsnetwork. Through the application server, one or more Class 5 toll-freeservices may be provided, such as but not limited to, concurrent callingfeatures, third party conferencing, overflow routing, and the like.Through use of the systems and methods of the present disclosure, suchservices may be provided for the customer regardless of the method ofrouting through the network requested by the customer. For example, thetoll-free communication may be transmitted through the network based ona destination telephone number associated with the customer. In anotherexample, the toll-free communication is transmitted through the networkbased on a dedicated trunk group identifier, known as the DestinationTrunk Group, associated with the customer.

Previously, the type of destination routing of the toll-freecommunication utilized for the customer determined the type andavailability of certain toll-free features of the network so that somefeatures, such as the concurrent calling feature, was not available tosome customers. In particular, some toll-free communication featuresprovided by an application server associated with an enterprise networkof the customer was generally not available to customers that utilizeddedicated trunk group destination routing as the application server wastypically bypassed by the routing of the communication through thenetwork. In addition, enterprise networks that utilized the applicationserver may also lose some functionality, such as identification of theoriginal dialed number of the toll-free communication. As one or more ofsuch toll-free features may be desired by customers of the networkutilizing a dedicated trunk group type routing, the present disclosureprovides systems and methods for providing application server basedtoll-free communication features to such customers of thetelecommunications network.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment 100 for providingtoll-free services to customers in an enterprise environment of atelecommunications network. The environment 100 provides forestablishing communication sessions between network users. With specificreference to FIG. 1, the environment 100 includes a VoIP network 102,which may be provided by a wholesale network service provider. However,while the environment 100 of FIG. 1 shows a configuration using the VoIPnetwork 102; it should be appreciated that portions of the network mayinclude non IP-based routing. For example, network 102 may includedevices utilizing time division multiplexing (TDM) or plain oldtelephone service (POTS) switching. In general, the network 102 of FIG.1 may include any communication network devices known or hereafterdeveloped.

The VoIP network 102 includes numerous components such as, but notlimited to gateways, routers, and registrars, which enable communicationacross the VoIP network 102, but are not shown or described in detailhere because those skilled in the art will readily understand thesecomponents. More relevant to this description is the interaction andcommunication between the VoIP network 102 and other entities, such asthe one or more customer home or business local area networks (LANs)106, where a user of the network will connect with the network and, moreparticularly, the application server (AS) 146 of the network.

Customer network 106 can include communication devices such as, but notlimited to, a personal computer or a telephone 110 connected to arouter/firewall 114. Although shown in FIG. 1 as computer 110, thecommunication devices may include any type of communication device thatreceives a multimedia signal, such as an audio, video or web-basedsignal, and presents that signal for use by a user of the communicationdevice. The communication and networking components of the customernetwork 106 enable a user at the customer network 106 to communicate viathe VoIP network 102 to other communication devices, such as anothercustomer network and/or an analog telephone 115, 120. Components of thecustomer network 106 are typically home- or business-based, but they canbe relocated and may be designed for easy portability. For example, thecommunication device 110 may be wireless (e.g., cellular) telephone,smart phone, tablet or portable laptop computer. In some embodiments,multiple communication devices in diverse locations that are owned oroperated by a particular entity or customer may be connected through theVoIP network 102. Such collections of may be referred to as an“enterprise network” or simply an “enterprise”. In general, anenterprise network is a logical network of devices that communicate overthe VoIP network 102 that may be treated by the VoIP network as a singleentity. In addition, an enterprise network may include several otherenterprise networks, in some embodiments.

The customer network 106 typically connects to the VoIP network 102 viaa border network 122, such as one provided by an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP). The border network 122 is typically provided andmaintained by a business or organization such as a local telephonecompany or cable company. The border network 122 may providenetwork/communication-related services to their customers. In contrast,the communication device 120 accesses, and is accessed by, the VoIPnetwork 102 via a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 126 operatedby a local exchange carrier (LEC). Communication via any of the networkscan be wired, wireless, or any combination thereof. Additionally, theborder network 122 and PSTN 126 may communicate, in some embodiments,with the VoIP Network 102 through a media gateway device (130, 132). Forease of instruction, only three communication devices 110, 115, 120 areshown communicating with the VoIP network 102; however, numerous suchdevices, and other devices, may be connected with the network, which isequipped to handle enormous numbers of simultaneous calls and othercommunications.

In general, a user of the network 102 utilizes one or more of thecommunication devices to transmit a communication to the network. Forexample, the user may place a toll-free telephone call to the network102 from a telephone 120 associated with the network. Upon receipt, thenetwork 102 routes the communication to a routing device 140 or routingdevices integrated within the network 102. In the example where thecommunication is a toll-free communication, the routing devices mayinclude a core routing engine (CRE) device 144 and/or a service controlpoint (SCP) device 140. It should be appreciated that the routingdevices 140, 144 may be a part of the network 102, may be separate fromthe network, or may have portions deployed in the network and out of thenetwork. In addition, routing devices 140, 144 may be resident on one ormore components of the VoIP network 140, including several instances ofthe routing devices integrated throughout the network 102. Further,although only a single instance of the routing devices 140, 144 areillustrated in FIG. 1, any number of additional routing devices may bepresent in the network 102.

The CRE 144 is a routing device configured to route communicationsthrough the network 102. In particular, the CRE 144 may include adatabase of telephone numbers or IP addresses associated with thenetwork 102 and the destination or location of the numbers in thedatabase. When a communication is received at the CRE 144, the CREassociates the communication with a destination device, and provides theroute through the network 102 to the destination device. With this routeor routing information, the communication may be transmitted through thecomponents of the network 102 to the destination device to connect thecaller with the destination device. In general, the destination devicefor the communication may be another component of the network 102, amedia gateway associated with the network, a dedicated trunk groupassociated with a client to the network, or the like.

In instances where the communication is a toll-free communication, theCRE 144 may route the received communication to the SCP 140. The SCP isconfigured to receive the toll-free communication, determine thedestination or communication device the toll-free communication isintended for, and provide a translation of the toll-free incomingcommunication destination into a destination associated with thedetermined destination. For example, the user of the network 102 uses acommunication device 110, 115, 120 to transmit a toll-free communicationto the network. The toll-free communication may be a common number ordestination for any number of users connected to the network 102. Thecommunication is received by the media gateway (130,132) and routedthrough the network 102 to the CRE 144, and then on to the SCP 140. TheSCP 140 receives the communication and, in response and described inmore detail below, determines a destination or customer network 142 towhich the toll-free communication is to be routed.

In one embodiment, the toll-free communication is associated with aparticular client or customer of the network 102 such that a destinationaddress for the communication can be determined from the incomingcommunication. Thus, similar to the CRE 144, the SCP 140 may include adatabase that correlates a toll-free communication with a destinationnetwork 142 connected to the network 102 and associated with theincoming communication. Further, the SCP 140 may then provide a routefor the communication to the client network 142 or media gateway 131associated with a client network for connection to the client network.In a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) based network, the CRE 144 andSCP 140 may provide one or more SIP commands to re-route thecommunication to the client network 142. Once connected, the user andthe client network 142 may exchange communications through the network102.

Additionally, the network 102 may include an application server 146configured to provide some toll-free services for one or more customersto the network. In particular, an enterprise network configuration of aparticular customer of the network 102 may utilize the applicationserver 146 to provide one or more toll-free services to the receivingcustomer. For example, the application server 146 may provide one ormore of the toll-free communication, such as maximum number ofconcurrent calls, an interactive menu presented to a caller of theclient, conference calling, overflow routing, and the like. In general,the application server 146 may be programmed or otherwise configured toprovide any type of toll-free telecommunication features to a customer.

In some particular instances, the toll-free features provided by theapplication server 146 may not be available for some customers to thenetwork 102. For example, many customers to the network 102 utilize adedicated trunk group to connect to the network. A dedicated trunk groupis a trunk of the network 102 that is reserved or dedicated to aparticular customer. Such a connection to the network 102 may beattractive to a customer that needs several communication lines to thenetwork. In this manner, the network 102 may route all communicationsintended for the customer to the dedicated trunk group so that thecustomer may route the incoming communications to the properdestination. This configuration provides the customer with addedflexibility in processing incoming communications to the customer'snetwork 142. For example, the customer may utilize dialed numberinformation service (DNIS) information to determine which toll-freenumber was dialed to access the customer. This allows the customer toprovide specific routing of the toll-free communication (billing, sales,etc.) and access to different menus to process the communication whenthe communication is received at the customer's network.

For toll-free communications, the network 102 (and in particular the SCP140) may process the communications differently depending on whether thedestination is a communication device or a dedicated trunk group of thecustomer. As described above, the SCP 140 configured to receive thetoll-free communication, determine the destination or communicationdevice the toll-free communication is intended for, and provide atranslation of the toll-free incoming communication destination into adestination associated with the determined destination. In the casewhere the destination is a communication device, the SCP 140 translatesthe dialed toll-free number into a telephone number associated with thedestination device or customer. Further, the returned routinginformation for the communication may include transmitting thecommunication to the application server 146 for the addition of one ormore toll-free features. This instance is illustrated in FIG. 1 ascommunication flow 150. The application server 140, in turn, processesthe communication based on the destination telephone number of thecustomer, applies one or more features to the communication based on thecustomer's agreement with the network 102, and routes the communicationto the destination device.

In the case where the destination is a dedicated trunk group, however,the translation performed by the SCP 140 translates the dialed toll-freenumber into a destination trunk group (DTG) identifier and a DNIS numberor string of digits. The DTG translation of the dialed toll-free numberis then recognized by the network 102 as belonging to the dedicatedtrunk group of the customer and routed accordingly. The DNIS digits arethen passed to the customer's network as directed by the SCP 140 for useby the customer's network. In most instances, however, the routing ofthe communication to the dedicated trunk group would not include theapplication server 146 such that the features provided by theapplication server are typically not available for toll-freecommunications intended for a customer with a dedicated trunk groupconfiguration. This instance is illustrated in FIG. 1 as communicationflow 152. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure provides customersto the network 102 connected through a dedicated trunk group all of theavailable toll-free features of the network, such as those featuresprovided by the application server 146.

In particular, FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a firstembodiment for routing a toll-free communication through an applicationserver 146 to a customer of a telecommunications network 102 utilizing adedicated trunk group connection to the network. In general, theoperations of the method of FIG. 2 operate to eliminate communicationflow 152 of FIG. 1 for those customers that are connected to the network102 through a dedicated trunk group configuration. Thus, the toll-freefeatures provided by the application server 146 may be applied to anytoll-free communication through the network 102, including toll-freecommunications intended for dedicated trunk group-type customers to thenetwork. The operations of FIG. 2 may be performed by any component ofthe network 102, including sharing execution of one or more of theoperations between components of the network. In other embodiments, theoperations may be performed by components of the client's network orother type of telecommunication components.

Beginning in operation 202, the network 102 receives a toll-freecommunication. As discussed above, this communication may originate froma communication device 110, 115, 120 associated with the network and maybe intended for another communication device or client network 142associated with the network. In one particular example, the clientnetwork 142 may include a dedicated trunk group connection to thenetwork 102 through which toll-free communications are received. Uponreceipt, the communication may be routed through the network 102 to theCRE 144, identified by the CRE as a toll-free communication, and routedto the SCP 140 for processing. The SCP 140 may then determine if thetoll-free communication is intended for a dedicated trunk group customer(operation 304) and translate the toll-free communication to adestination number or DTG identifier for further routing through thenetwork 102, as described above. In particular, for customers connectedto the network 102 through a dedicated trunk group, the SCP 140 includesa parameter or identifier for the customer's dedicated trunk group forrouting through the network. This is known as the Destination TrunkGroup (DTG) parameter. For customers that do not use a dedicated trunkgroup, the SCP 140 includes the destination telephone number or otheridentifier of the customer's communication device for routing.

In operation 206, the CRE 144 of the network 102 is configured to routethe toll-free communications to the application server 146. Inparticular, the CRE 144 is configured to route toll-free communicationsintended for a dedicated trunk group customer to the application server.Previously, toll-free communications intended for dedicated trunk groupcustomers would be routed directly to the trunk group without beingrouted through the application server 146. In one embodiment, the CRE144 may include a routing table that indicates that toll-freecommunications intended for a dedicated trunk group customer is to berouted to the application server. In one particular embodiment, theapplication server destination for the toll-free communication may beincluded in a SIP header associated with the toll-free communication.Thus, by altering to configuring the routing table, the network 102 mayroute the toll-free communications to the application server.

In operation 208, the application server 146 may be modified to processa toll-free communication based on the DTG parameter associated with thecommunication. Previously, the application server 146 may be configuredto only process communications associated with a destination telephonenumber. Thus, because communications intended for dedicated trunk groupcustomers did not include a destination telephone number (but rather aDTG parameter or identifier), the application server 146 could not routethe communication to the customer. The network 102 addressed this issueby routing the communication to the dedicated trunk group customer andbypassing the application server. However, in this embodiment, thetoll-free communication may be routed to the application server 146.Further, the application server 146 may be configured to account fordedicated trunk group customer communications and process thecommunication based on the DTG parameter associated with thecommunication. For example, the application server 146 may be configuredto detect the inclusion of the DTG parameter associated with thecommunication. When the DTG parameter is detected, the applicationserver may determine the intended customer's network and provide a routefor the communication, accordingly. In particular, the applicationserver 146 may be configured to determine the media gateway 131 or otherinterface component of the network 102 connected to the customer'snetwork 142 and provide the routing information to route thecommunication to the media gateway. In this manner, the applicationserver 146 is configured to process the routing of a toll-freecommunication to the destination device through the destinationtelephone number or the DTG parameter of the communication.

Further, because the application server 146 is configured to correctlyprocess or route the toll-free communication intended for dedicatedtrunk group customers, the application server may also provide one ormore of the toll-free features of the application server. For example,the application server 146 may provide features such as maximum numberof concurrent calls, an interactive menu presented to a caller of theclient, conference calling, overflow routing, and the like to toll-freecommunications intended for dedicated trunk group customers to thenetwork 102. These features may be based on an identification of the DTGassociated with the customer and an agreement between the customer andthe network 102. Once the features of the application server 146 areapplied to the communication, the application server may then route thetoll-free communication to the end user in operation 210. Also, throughthis embodiment, the toll-free communication may retain the DNIStranslation applied by the SCP 140 when intended for a dedicated trunkgroup customer. Thus, in addition to the features applied by theapplication server 146, the dedicated trunk group customer may retainthe functionality at the client's network 142 based on the DNIS of thetoll-free communication.

In a similar manner, communications (both toll-free and non-toll-freecommunications) from the customer's network 142 may follow a reversepath through the network 102 as that described above. For example, acommunication from the client network 142 may arrive at the mediagateway 131 of the network 102 and be routed to the application server.For toll-free communications, the application server may provide one ormore of the features discussed above. For example, the applicationserver 146 may apply the outbound communication into the concurrentcalling feature for the client. From the application server 146, thecommunication may be routed to the media gateway 132, which may refer tothe CRE 144 for routing of the outbound communication. In addition, oneor more additional components may be utilized in routing the outboundcall. For example, a routing device within the network 102 or in anothertelecommunication network associated with the VoIP network may bereferenced to determine the destination of the communication. Regardlessof which network the communication is destined, one or more features ofthe application server 146 may be applied to the outbound communicationfrom the client's network 142.

In some instances, the application server 146 may not be configurable bythe network or an administrator of the network. For example, theapplication server 146 may be controlled and configured by a vendor tothe network 102. Thus, another embodiment of the present disclosure isillustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 3. In particular, the embodiment ofFIG. 2 may be utilized by the network 102 to provide the applicationserver features when the application server is not configurable by thenetwork. Many of the operations for this particular embodiment aresimilar to the operations described above such that reference to theoperations of FIG. 2 is included below. Similar to the method describedabove, the operations of FIG. 3 may also be performed by any componentof the network 102, including sharing execution of one or more of theoperations between components of the network. In other embodiments, theoperations may be performed by components of the client's network orother type of telecommunication components.

Similar to above, the network 102 receives a toll-free communicationand, upon receipt, the communication may be routed through the network102 to the CRE 144, identified by the CRE as a toll-free communication,and routed to the SCP 140 for processing (operation 302). The SCP 140may then determine if the toll-free communication is intended for adedicated trunk group customer (operation 304). However, in thisembodiment, if the toll-free communication is intended for a dedicatedtrunk group customer to the network, the SCP 140 may not translate thetoll-free communication to a destination number or identifier forfurther routing through the network 102, as described above. Rather, theSCP 140 may return an identification of the switch trunk group to whichthe customer is connected for routing purposes (operation 306). Inaddition, the SCP 140 is further configured to include the dialedtoll-free telephone number and associate the dialed toll-free telephonenumber with the communication. Thus, rather than including a dedicatedtrunk group identifier with the communication, the SCP 140 retains thedialed toll-free telephone number with the communication.

Also, upon returning the communication to the CRE 144, the CRE isconfigured to route the communication based on the switch trunk groupidentified by the SCP 140 (operation 308). This routing may, in someinstances, include routing the communication to the application server146 at the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the application server. Theapplication server 146, in turn, identifies the dialed toll-freetelephone number included with the communication as belonging to asubscriber to the application server (operation 310). In particular, theapplication server may maintain a list of subscribers to the server thatare identifiable by the dialed toll-free telephone number. Thissubscriber list may also include a trunk group identifier to anenterprise to which the subscriber belongs. With the trunk groupidentifier and the enterprise identified, the application server maydetermine which features the enterprise customer has requested, applyone or more of those features to the communication, and route thecommunication to the customer's enterprise. The enterprise may include adedicated trunk group connection to the network 102. In addition, theapplication server may perform one or more translations of theinformation in the communication, such as a typical digit manipulationof the communication for routing purposes. In this manner, theapplication server may both apply one or more toll-free features to thecommunication, while also routing the communication to an end customerconnected to the network 102 through a dedicated trunk group (operation312).

In one particular embodiment (illustrated in the network 400 of FIG. 4),the network may include one or more network servers 402 associated withthe application servers 404 of the network 102. In general, a networkserver 402 may act as a routing engine for one or more applicationservers 404. Thus, one network server 402 may service many applicationservers 404, although any combination of network servers and applicationservers is possible. As explained in more detail below, the networkserver 402 receives communications for or from the application serversand directs the communications accordingly. In one embodiment, thenetwork server 402 may perform load balancing for communications to acluster of application servers to prevent any one application serverfrom being overloaded with communications from the network 102.

In addition, the other components illustrated in FIG. 4 are similar orthe same as those discussed above with relation to FIG. 1. As such,those components retain the numerical identifiers from FIG. 1 into FIG.4. In general, the description of the call flow included below appliesfor outbound toll-free communications from an enterprise network toanother enterprise network. To support this circumstance, one or more ofthe network servers 402 of the network 102 may be provided or loadedwith a routing list that routes the communication in a different mannerdepending on if the communication is received at the network server fromthe network 102 or from one or more of the application servers 404associated with the network server.

In particular, a toll-free communication may originate at the enterpriseclient network 142 and be transmitted to the network 102 through themedia gateway 131. The media gateway 131 then transmits thecommunication to the network server 402 for transmission to theapplication server 404. More particularly, the media gateway 131 maytransmit the communication or otherwise contact the network server 402.The network server 402 then determines which application server 404 ofthe network 102 to transmit the communication. In this manner, thenetwork server 402 may load balance communications among the multipleapplication servers 404 associated with the network server. Once anapplication server 404 is selected by the network server 402, thetoll-free communication is routed to the application server. Theapplication server 404 identifies the communication as coming from theenterprise client and may then apply one or more of the toll-freefeatures to the communication.

Once the features are applied to the communication, the applicationserver 404 may then contact the network server 402 for transmission ofthe communication to the destination device. The network server 402associates the communication with the particular application server 404that transmitted the communication and returns a routing device withinthe network for routing of the communication. For example, the networkserver 402 may route the communication to the CRE 144 of the network 102to determine where the communication is further routed. The CRE 144 (andother routing components of the network 102 or an external network) maythen further provide routing information for the communication. However,because the communication is intended for an enterprise network of thenetwork 102, the communication may be returned to the application server404 as an inbound communication. In particular, the network 102 mayroute the communication to the network server 402 for processing.Similar to above, because the request for routing is originating fromthe network 102, the network server 402 determines which applicationserver 404 the communication is associated with and routes thecommunication accordingly. Once at the application server 404, thecommunication may then be routed to the destination device. In oneparticular embodiment, the destination device may be a dedicated trunkgroup associated with the destination client.

In one embodiment, an administrator of the network 102 may configure thenetwork server 402 to perform one or more of the operations describedabove for routing of enterprise toll-free communications. In anotherembodiment, the network server 402 may be configured prior to inclusionin the network 102. In any event, the network server 402 may includerouting information that distinguishes between communications from andintended for an application server 404 and route the communicationaccordingly.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing deviceor computer system 500 which may be used in implementing the embodimentsof the components of the network disclosed above. For example, thecomputing system 500 of FIG. 5 may be used to implement the variouscomponents of the virtual local loop system 202 discussed above. Thecomputer system (system) includes one or more processors 502-506.Processors 502-506 may include one or more internal levels of cache (notshown) and a bus controller or bus interface unit to direct interactionwith the processor bus 512. Processor bus 512, also known as the hostbus or the front side bus, may be used to couple the processors 502-506with the system interface 514. System interface 514 may be connected tothe processor bus 512 to interface other components of the system 500with the processor bus 512. For example, system interface 514 mayinclude a memory controller 514 for interfacing a main memory 516 withthe processor bus 512. The main memory 516 typically includes one ormore memory cards and a control circuit (not shown). System interface514 may also include an input/output (I/O) interface 520 to interfaceone or more I/O bridges or I/O devices with the processor bus 512. Oneor more I/O controllers and/or I/O devices may be connected with the I/Obus 526, such as I/O controller 528 and I/O device 540, as illustrated.

I/O device 540 may also include an input device (not shown), such as analphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys forcommunicating information and/or command selections to the processors502-506. Another type of user input device includes cursor control, suchas a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to the processors 502-506and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.

System 500 may include a dynamic storage device, referred to as mainmemory 516, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readabledevices coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by the processors 502-506. Main memory 516also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions by the processors 502-506.System 500 may include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other staticstorage device coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processors 502-506. The system setforth in FIG. 5 is but one possible example of a computer system thatmay employ or be configured in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

According to one embodiment, the above techniques may be performed bycomputer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 516.These instructions may be read into main memory 516 from anothermachine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 516 may causeprocessors 502-506 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may include both hardware and software components.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processingapplication) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media maytake the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatilemedia. Non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks. Volatilemedia includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 516. Common forms ofmachine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, magneticstorage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g.,CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); randomaccess memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM andEEPROM); flash memory; or other types of medium suitable for storingelectronic instructions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which aredescribed in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardwarecomponents or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, whichmay be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processorprogrammed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively,the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer toparticular features, the scope of this invention also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations together with allequivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A method for processing a toll-free communication in atelecommunications network, the method comprising: receiving a toll-freecommunication, the toll-free communication for a dedicated trunk groupcustomer associated with the telecommunications network; routing thetoll-free communication to an application server associated with thetelecommunications network; applying, through the application server,one or more toll-free features to the toll-free communication; androuting the toll-free communication from the application server to thededicated trunk group customer associated with the telecommunicationsnetwork.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: transmitting thetoll-free communication to a service control point device of thetelecommunications network based at least on a dialed toll-freetelephone number associated with the dedicated trunk group.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 further comprising: translating, at the servicecontrol point device, the dialed toll-free telephone number into adialed number information services number; and associating the dialednumber information services number with the toll-free communication. 4.The method of claim 1 further comprising: associating a destinationtrunk group with the toll-free communication, the destination trunkgroup configured to indicate a dedicated trunk group associated with thededicated trunk group customer.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein routingthe toll-free communication from the application server to thedestination trunk group customer is based at least on the destinationtrunk group associated with the toll-free communication.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein routing the toll-free communication from theapplication server to the dedicated trunk group customer comprises:configuring the application server to determine the associateddestination trunk group of the toll-free communication; and processingthe toll-free communication based at least on the dedicated trunk groupcustomer.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more toll-freefeatures to the toll-free communication through the application servercomprises concurrent calling monitoring for the dedicated trunk groupcustomer associated with the telecommunications network.
 8. Atelecommunications network comprising: a network routing engineconfigured to receive a toll-free communication and route the toll-freecommunication in the telecommunications network, wherein the destinationof the toll-free communication is a dedicated trunk group customerassociated with the telecommunications network; and a toll-freeapplication server configured to receive the toll-free communicationfrom the network routing engine, apply one or more toll-free features tothe toll-free communication, and route the toll-free communication fromthe application server to the dedicated trunk group customer associatedwith the telecommunications network.
 9. The telecommunications networkof claim 8 further comprising: a service control point device incommunication with the network routing engine, the service control pointdevice configured to translate a dialed toll-free telephone numberassociated with the toll-free communication into a dialed numberinformation services number and associate the dialed number informationservices number with the toll-free communication.
 10. Thetelecommunications network of claim 9 wherein the service control pointdevice is further configured to associate a destination trunk group withthe toll-free communication, the destination trunk group configured toindicate a dedicated trunk group associated with the dedicated trunkgroup customer.
 11. The telecommunications network of claim 10 whereinthe routing the toll-free communication from the application server tothe dedicated trunk group customer is based at least on the destinationtrunk group associated with the toll-free communication.
 12. Thetelecommunications network of claim 11 wherein the application server isfurther configured to process the toll-free communication based at leaston the dedicated trunk group customer.
 13. The telecommunicationsnetwork of claim 8 wherein the one or more toll-free features to thetoll-free communication comprises concurrent calling monitoring for thededicated trunk group customer associated with the telecommunicationsnetwork.
 14. The telecommunications network of claim 10 wherein thetoll-free communication is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) basedcommunication and a destination trunk group parameter is included in aSIP header associated with the toll-free communication.
 15. A method foroperating a telecommunications network, the method comprising: receivinga toll-free communication request from a user's device in communicationwith the telecommunications network, the toll-free communication requestfor a dedicated trunk group customer associated with thetelecommunications network; transmitting the toll-free communicationrequest to a routing device of the telecommunications network, therouting device configured to associate a trunk group identifier and adialed toll-free telephone number with the toll-free communicationrequest; routing the toll-free communication request to an applicationserver associated with the telecommunications network based at least onthe dialed toll-free telephone number associated with the toll-freecommunication request; applying, through the application server, one ormore toll-free features to the toll-free communication request; androuting the toll-free communication request from the application serverto the dedicated trunk group customer associated with thetelecommunications network.
 16. The method of claim 15 furthercomprising: translating, at the routing device, the dialed toll-freetelephone number associated with the toll-free communication requestinto a dialed number information services number; and associating thedialed number information services number with the toll-freecommunication request.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein routing thetoll-free communication from the application server to the dedicatedtrunk group customer is based at least on the trunk group identifier andthe dialed toll-free telephone number associated with the toll-freecommunication request.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein routing thetoll-free communication from the application server to the dedicatedtrunk group customer comprises: configuring the application server todetermine the associated trunk group identifier of the toll-freecommunication; and processing the toll-free communication based at leaston the dedicated trunk group customer.
 19. The method of claim 15wherein the one or more toll-free features to the toll-freecommunication through the application server comprises concurrentcalling monitoring for the dedicated trunk group customer associatedwith the telecommunications network.
 20. The method of claim 15 whereinthe application server is associated with an enterprise networkconfiguration of the dedicated trunk group customer to thetelecommunications network.